Dreaming of me
by Meiun
Summary: complete Sequel to Kaiba's Match Mokuba, Kaiba, and the others wakes up one morning and the world is changed. Who is responsible, and why is what they need to answer before the change is permanent, or Yami Bakura blows up the town, whichever comes first
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer: I don't own them, well except Kiri and she may take offense to that statement.

A/n This story takes place about 4 months or so after Kaiba's match. Kiri is in her last two months of high school.

Hopefully you will all enjoy it as much as the other one.

Prologue

Mokuba slinked down the hall, trying to bypass his brother's open door without him hearing the young teenager go by. He had gotten caught up in playing video games against Jounouchi until well past his curfew. 'Another couple of feet and he would be home free', he thought to himself. Just as he reached for the doorknob to open his door, Kaiba cleared his throat and softly called his name. Mokuba hunched over and sighed, turning around he walked into his brother's office.

His brother sat back in his chair with his hands steepled in front of him, motionless and expressionless. Mokuba sighed again. He went for the poor puppy dog eyes complete with the kicked dog look in hopes of getting away with only a verbal warning for breaking curfew. The computer chimed the warning of an incoming message. Kaiba turned his head to read it and Mokuba took the opportunity to glance toward the couch and see if he had an ally waiting there.

Kiri was indeed on the couch, passed out from the looks of it, Kaiba's surcoat doubling as her blanket. She looked as if his brother had been dueling again, and she had, no doubt, passed out immediately afterwards. Mokuba shook his head, no matter how many times Kaiba was warned not to exhaust his partner, he always did. Granted, Kaiba never did anything in halves and Kiri would sooner spend a week in the simulation with Bunny then be the cause of Kaiba's defeat. Privately, Mokuba thought his brother liked Kiri more than he would ever admit. Mokuba, however, liked his head where it was and kept that thought quiet.

"Mokuba" Kaiba's quiet voice pulled Mokuba's eyes too him.

"Uhm, Yo, brother of mine, what are you still doing up." Mokuba looked around trying to act like he had been there the whole time.

"Curfew was an hour ago, Mokuba." Kaiba's voice was disappointed. Mokuba hated it when his brother used that tone of voice on him. He wilted and turned pleading eyes to his brother.

"I am sorry. I was playing video games and lost track of the time." He sniffled and turned big eyes to his brother.

"Did you win?" Kiri's sleepy voice asked.

"I whipped his tail, Kiri." Mokuba turned and grinned at her. She smiled back and sat up on the couch, wrapping Kaiba's coat around her. Her clothing had become a running joke in the Kaiba household. She wore long skirts and pants when out of the game and outfits designed to raise any male's blood pressure and her temper inside the game. She stood up and slipped her arms through the sleeves and put her hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "You missed dinner, are you hungry?" She pushed him toward the door.

"We aren't finished talking yet, Kiri." Kaiba's voice was cold and distant. Kiri turned and gave him a soft look. "Tomorrow is soon enough, Seto. He needs to eat and sleep now, and for that matter so do I." She swayed softly before catching her balance. "Somebody couldn't resist the challenge of Bakura again," she pointed out. Kaiba just gave her a look and turned back to his screen.

Mokuba jumped up and down. "Are you staying here tonight, Kiri."

"Probably, Mokuba. I am too tired to walk home and school's out for the week, starting tomorrow."

She wrapped her arm around Mokuba's shoulder and they walked into the family's private quarters. Mokuba ate quickly and went to bed, not wanting to keep Kiri up any later than he had too. She was curled up on the couch in the living room when he finished. Walking by her softly, Mokuba went to his own room to bed. He fell into a dream of Duel Monsters coming to life.

Kaiba walked into the private quarters an hour later. He checked on Mokuba to find the boy peacefully dreaming. Kiri was asleep on the couch again. They had this argument every time she stayed over. He picked her up and carried her into his bedroom and tucked her into his bed. He would sleep in his office, he usually did anyways on nights when the company demanded a lot of time. 'Those idiots had better have some better news when I return or I will be heading down there personally and looking for their replacements' he growled in his head. His hand had moved of it's own accord and brushed the hair from Kiri's face.

Kaiba returned to his office where sleep overcame him at the stroke of midnight. The entire city seemed to sleep as a strange dream crept into their minds. Most would wake from this dream in what, to them, was an unchanged reality. Others would awaken to something vastly different then they ever imagined possible.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own them, well except Kiri and she may take offense to that statement.

A/N: Wow, three review already. I am inspired.

Mokuba awoke and stretched. Something was different, but he couldn't quite place his claw on it.

Stop...blink, blink...claw?

Mokuba looked down and sure enough, he had claws and wings. Somehow, Mokuba was now Muki. He slunk back down under the covers, he didn't know what was going on, but somehow he just knew his brother was not going to be happy. Maybe if he went back to sleep he would change back or awaken from this nightmare. Either way, he wasn't ready to face Kaiba just yet.

Morning broke over the city like every other morning. The sun rose with beauty and grace, the birds sang their morning greetings and the city arose full of life. Kiri stretched and snuggled deeper in the warm blankets and soft mattress. Somewhere in her mind she noted that Kaiba had once again moved her from the couch to his bed, but the chill in the air that nipped her nose settled her against getting up and storming down to his office. However, other vague thoughts began to filter in her head, such as she didn't remember going to bed in her underwear, and why did it feel like she had fallen asleep in another game...her eyes came open as that realization struck her. She swung her legs off the bed and stood up, glanced in the mirror, then screamed. It was the type of scream that generally caused your blood to chill, your heart to stop, and anyone living or dead to awaken in startlement or terror depending on your nature.

Kiri turned as Kaiba burst through the bedroom door. They stared at each other for a few moments, each unbelieving of the other's appearance. Kiri blinked at Kaiba, opened her mouth, closed it, and finally managed to speak, "You're a dragon. A big, black dragon." She looked at the door behind him and then around the bedroom, "your bedroom is dragon-size." She just blinked at the bed, knowing she sounded like an idiot but unable to come up with anything more intelligent under the circumstances. She had been sleeping in a dragon's bed, albeit warm and comfortable it may be, and her partner was now a dragon. Big, black, angry dragon! 'Kaiba angry, remind me to never be the cause of that, it is not pretty' she thought to herself. 'My English deteriorates when I am dumbfounded,' she absently observed. She looked back at the mirror then to Kaiba, "I want my clothes back." It was more of a thought than any real demand; somehow she just knew that her clothes at home were all in the same condition. Call it feminine intuition, or perhaps more accurately, feminine fear.

A movement on the bed caught their attention. Kiri watched in horror/surprise as a big, white dragon stretched and yawned. "Keep the noise down, it's still early," he grumped. Kiri backed away from him and into Kaiba's fairly large chest. Somehow having him towering over her made her feel slightly better about the strange dragon she had 'slept' with...blink, blink...slept with. Kiri begin to feel slightly dizzy. "Who are you?" she whispered, her voice having vanished with the shock.

"Kiri, quite being silly, you know me, I'm Kaiba," the white dragon yawned at her then grinned. She stared at this grinning dragon, 'Kaiba never grins' she thought. The black dragon stared at the white in annoyance, "I am Kaiba." Somehow Kiri was finding this amusing in a horrified kind of way. The two dragons continued to glare at each other as Kiri's brain finally kicked into gear.

"Kind of like Yugi and the Pharaoh" she pointed out.

The black dragon hissed, "I don't have a dark side or another personality living in my head."

Kiri smiled weakly. "I always figured you were your own dark side," she quipped.

The white dragon snickered, "that's for sure." Somehow the white dragon snickering really made Kiri nervous. 'Kaiba never snickers, never laughs,' she paled even more if that was possible at the moment, 'it's Kaiba's never half.' That thought triggered a realization that shot through Kiri like lightening. If she had been in a cheesy cartoon, a light bulb would have gone off over her head.

"He is your light side," she gasped, pointing at the white dragon. She began to laugh, tears rolling down her face. The two Kaiba's glaring at her only made it worse. Vaguely she knew she was slightly hysterical but she couldn't stop.

"What a sight! Keep laughing, baby, your bouncing beautifully."

Kiri sobered immediately and turned to glare at Muki. "Ugh, not you too."

"In the flesh, sweetheart. Every beautiful ounce of me." Muki flexed his wings and puffed out his chest.

"You can be replaced by a stuffed dragon."

"Where you going to find a stuffed dragon?"

"In the phone book under taxidermist."

The white Kaiba laughed, "oh Kiri, you're so clever."

Kiri narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists on her hips. "You, just shut up. It's bad enough dealing with a perverted brat and the king of cold hearts here; I don't need your chauvinistic attitude. And while we are at it, where the hell are my clothes."

A/N tune in next chapter to see how the rest of our adventurers are faring. Is it just Kaiba's house or did everyone have a change (snicker) of heart.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N sorry the update took so long, but well, college work before fun work. I hope I spelled some of the names right. But the deck is elsewhere and I have delayed long enough.

Kiri sat in Kaiba's office staring at the assembled group. Not long after the rude awakening this morning, the Pharaoh's group had appeared, saving Kaiba from killing...himself? Kiri had a hard time even thinking Hyozanryu was any part of Kaiba whereas the Pitch Black Dragon form was the Kaiba she knew and loved. 'But I will admit that when light and dark Kaiba actually cooperate for longer than two minutes,' she thought.

She turned her attention back to yami Kaiba and the Pharaoh. Muki was curled up on her lap, behaving for once. After his initial outburst, he had calmed down. Maybe it was Kiri's threat to leave him to fend for himself with Kaiba, the knowledge that yes, she does know where he sleeps, or the fact that he didn't want to draw Kaiba's attention or his ire. Either way, Kiri figured she would enjoy it while it lasted. 'The way Kaiba's currently going, I don't want his attention either.'

"The change didn't affect everyone, just the serious duelist." Jounouchi was saying. He swung his sword in emphasis and Tristan smacked him on the head with his gun. The Flame Swordsman and the Cyber Commander yelled insults for a few seconds before Anzu cut in.

"It also affects the partners" Anzu reminded him and gestured to herself and Kiri. It was hard for Kiri not to snicker at Anzu in the Black Magician's Girl outfit. Granted, she wasn't doing much better curled up on the couch in the Pharaoh's shirt. It may have been sleeveless, but at least she was no longer prancing around in a bikini that would get her banned from most beaches. The Pharaoh didn't look too bad dressed as a true Pharoah from Ancient Egypt. Being shirtless didn't bother him, but Kaiba had seemed slightly irked by his offering and her accepting his shirt. The way Anzu kept sneaking peaks at the shirtless Pharaoh made Kiri think she didn't mind the view either. 'I may have a partner, but I am not dead' Kiri paraphrased and giggled in her mind.

"The thing that gets me is that no one seems to have noticed what is going on but us. It's as if the entire world has always been this way, we didn't just get up this morning to suddenly find out that we had changed." Pharaoh sighed. Yugi nodded in agreement, his magician's hat bobbing up and down as if nodding too.

After much bickering and generally getting nowhere, it was decided they would break up into groups and hunt down the usual villains. Perhaps one of them would have a clue, or at best be the cause so that this whole fiasco could be over by evening.

However as the day progressed Kiri was convinced the Gods personally hated her and she was paying for sins in lives she hadn't even committed yet. If it wasn't one thing it was another. To top it off, having Hyozanryu acting like she was the precious princess and generally ticking off Pitch Black Dragon, it might not have been so bad. She would almost swear that yami Kaiba was jealous if it wasn't for that fact that she pretty well knew it had more to do with possessiveness over possessions than any real visual on his part of her as a person, much less human. She grumbled to herself as they returned to Kaiba headquarters. She couldn't even find anything to wear since every time she got a moment to shop the stores weren't there. It was as if no one bought clothes, they just came with them. She was getting aggravated at walking around in the Pharaoh's shirt, but it was better than nothing. And considering some of the sights she had seen recently, she was fairly glad that she walked everywhere she went and kept in shape. She shuddered again at some of the images and decided she would probably have nightmares for the rest of her life.

Elsewhere in the city:

Bakura stretched his tail and hissed in satisfaction. It had been a long time since he had been completely free. He noticed a Celtic Elf walking his way. Hissing in pleasure, he found a good place to wait for his next victim. He was so going to enjoy his freedom.


	4. Chapter 3

a/n Okay, hopefully this one makes sense. A little bit of fluff with a lot of suspense.

Kiri yawned and stretched. The day had been long and the only thing settled was that the usual villains were innocent this time. Pegasus was a Toon Clown. The rest either accounted for as other cards or no longer existent on this plane of existence. So they were looking for an unknown perpetrator with unknown motives. She looked at the clock, surprised to see it was only 9 p.m. She stood up and stretched; smiling at Muki, she announced her intention of going to bed.

Hyozanryu stretched his wings as well, gesturing her to go first. She stared at him suspiciously. "Where do you think your going?"

"To bed."

"Where?"

"With you, silly." He smiled at her like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hell will freeze over first" she replied sweetly. She turned around and headed for Kaiba's office. Hyozanryu followed her, all the while informing her that she was headed the wrong direction for bed. She ignored him. She walked into Kaiba's office and turned pleading eyes on Yami Kaiba. "Keep him away from me." She begged. She grabbed a blanket in passing from the overly large couch and curled up in a corner behind Yami Kaiba. She fell asleep grumbling about never Kaiba's who should never be allowed out. Sometime later, she felt something warm curling around her. She laid her head on the pillow and snuggled into the warmth. Falling back into the darkness of sleep, she thought she heard a faint, rumbling purr.

Bakura smiled as another fool player vanished into the darkness of the game. One by one, the fool's accepted his challenge and failed to defeat him. They all fell into the darkness. He hissed to himself in pleasure. He continued on searching for more challenges. Although it may have appeared that he was simply enjoying his freedom, Bakura still searched for the cause of this Dark Game. Not so much to stop it, but so that he could make sure it never ended.

Somewhere in that darkness, a set of eyes watched the happenings with interest. The sacrifices to the darkness strengthened the darkness. The Eyes chuckled at the group sprawled around Yugi's room; "staying together for protection," the Eyes whispered. Hikari Kaiba was sleeping alone in a dragon's size bed much to his disgruntlement. Yami Kaiba slept curled up near his desk, Kiri safely tucked away in his tail, Muki curled up in Kaiba's front legs. The Eyes continued watching with glee, it wouldn't be long now.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N Still don't own Kaiba…but if I did…sigh, drool, sigh. Anyway, I am not entirely happy with this chapter so if you have any suggestions for it, it would be appreciated.

Kaiba awoke feeling rested and content. He shifted Mokuba into a more comfortable position. Nothing unusual there. It wasn't uncommon for him to crawl into bed with Kaiba although it was no where near as bad as when he was younger. However considering the shake up in his life and the fact he was still a small dragon, it was understandable.

He felt something sigh and snuggle into his tail. He froze, every single thought in his head fled but one 'I did NOT just sleep with HER. Nevermind he was a dragon, she was a human. Nevermind that all they did was sleep. Nevermind the fact that he enjoyed the feel of her skin against his…oh no, I did not just think that.' She shifted and threw her leg over his tail, snuggling in closer. Kaiba quit thinking…hell he quit breathing. Slowly the need for oxygen filtered into his frozen mind and he slowly let out the breath he had been holding.

"How come you'll sleep with him and not with me?" an obnoxious voice whined. Hyozanryu pouted in the doorway as Kiri sat up and blinked at him with bewilderment. Kaiba almost smiled, which on the human version of Kaiba is frightening…on the dragon version is nearly beyond horrifying. Somewhere children awoke screaming with nightmares of Kaiba dragon smiling. Here was someone, or something as the case may be, that he could vent his confusion on, and if there was one thing that Kaiba hated to be, it was confused. The sadistic glee in his eyes was enough to send Mokuba into hiding in Kiri's arms. Sleepy, befuddled but knowing that whatever caused that gleam in Kaiba's eyes was not good, Kiri quietly tiptoed up the stairs and as far away as she could get. The sounds coming from behind her boded ill for Hyozanryu and the day, but she could almost hear the satisfaction in Kaiba's battle roar. Somehow that was more terrifying than his almost smile.

Later that day, the four erstwhile adventurers…or at least one small adventurer, one bewildered female, one slightly black and blue white dragon, and a satisfied black dragon wandered their way across town to the card shop that Yugi's grandfather owned. Outside the shop, Exodia was sweeping a large welcome mat. Kaiba stopped and glared in disgust, disbelief, and was that a slight bit of envy in his eyes.

"Oh, Kaiba, Yugi has been expecting you, let me tell him you're here."

Kiri touched Kaiba's neck to gain his attention. "Was that just Yugi's grandfather?" she asked. Kaiba just humphed at her and sat back on his haunches, refusing to acknowledge that the old man had turned into such a powerful card. Refusing to even consider the possibility that in a battle, the old man could have a chance at winning against him. Kiri cocked her head at him and hid her smile, she had heard how Yugi had defeated Kaiba using those same cards and knew that Kaiba was less than amused to find the old man who was indirectly responsible for that first defeat to have changed into the very cards responsible for that defeat. She wisely dropped the subject and contented herself with stroking the scales she had been touching.

"Well you two seem to be getting along better" the Pharoah smirked.

(Mwhahahah, I am evil, I know it. But now on to Bakura)

A hiss and a shift in the shadows was the only warning that those foolish enough to enter into his territory got before they were challenged and defeated one by one to be cast into the darkness. He had chosen his territory carefully. It was a perfect park in the middle of the city, bringing plenty of prey, yet close enough to the Pharoah that Bakura could keep his eyes on Ryo. Not that he cared much about his host now that he had a body of his own, but well one could never be too careful. And if for whatever reason he needed a host again he preferred Ryo. Nevermind that anyone would do, he simply preferred Ryo and as such took precautions to ensure his safety.

The darkness was growing and in some ways it disturbed him. The more you fed it, the bigger it got, and while he was enjoying his freedom he was no fool. This darkness meant trouble and if anyone was going to be causing trouble, it was Bakura. He waited for his informants to return with the information they were sent to gather. He was amassing a small squad of servants, those who he defeated but were good enough to have been interesting to him. They were his eyes and ears around the city, being everywhere that he could not always be. He intended to find who was causing the darkness and then he would decide if he would join or simply take over the project. "After all" he hissed, "we wouldn't want to stop it, just use it for a 'good' purpose." The dark laughter that followed was enough to send anyone in hearing distance scurrying for cover and glancing behind them for the danger for the rest of the day.

A/N as I said, I am not entirely happy with this chapter so expect that it may be revised.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N Still don't own the cards or Kaiba, but he would look good in my bed stop oh I did not just say that out loud stop ack,I pulled a Kaiba.

Okay, all silliness aside, this chapter will not answer your questions about what Kaiba's response was…it will however, give you more ideas about the plot. Mwhahaha…The pharaoh lives another chapter.

Pharaoh: "as if there was any doubt"

Something slithered in the dimness, hissing and laughing to itself as it watched the darkness take another soul.

"Fool's, feed my darkness until it has enough power that no one can defeat me."

The resulting laughter caused the trapped souls to shiver in their cells. Their energy flickering and fading as their life was slowly devoured by the darkness. The stronger the player, the more energy they fed to the darkness. The sweater their fear tasted upon his withered lips. He pulled the mirror to him and peered at the passing scenes until one flashed by that caused him to hiss in anger. Another night had come and gone and the two strongest players and those near them had failed to fall to darkness of the game or mind.

"Fool, you said you would make sure they fell. Then why do they still walk in the light with their memories intact."

"They were stronger than I had thought." A shadow detached from the wall and caressed the mirror, fingers lingering over a longhaired elf of a woman stroking a dragon's neck.

"Bring them to the darkness before they discover their strength and me." He hissed.

The shadow shrugged. "The Pharaoh and Magician already know their strength, they just haven't figured out that one can be two and two can be one in the game."

The hissing increased as he watched the Pharaoh stop in front of the Pitch Black Dragon and speak. He froze the mirror and pointed at the girl the shadow's finger had lingered on. "If you bring me their souls, I will give you the flute of summoning dragons. She is what you desire is she not."

The shadow caressed the mirror one last time and turned toward the master of the darkness. "Now you have my full attention."

The master's smile was as vile as he was. The souls shivered and wailed in fear.

"If you take her from them, they will follow. If you cast them into darkness, she can be yours."

The shadow inclined his head in acknowledgement. "So let it be. She will be mine before twilight's last fingers leave this land and your darkness will be complete."

The master nodded and turned toward the mirror. The fools swirled away he was unconcerned now. The shadow would deliver or the shadow would die.

A/N And depending on how much I manage to write this weekend on my medieval paper, I may update next week by Wednesday. Finals week, gotta love it.


	7. chapter 6

A/n Okay, sorry about that. Holiday's, who need them. And I didn't get Kaiba for my Christmas present either, though he was on my list.

**Flashback**

Kiri touched Kaiba's neck to gain his attention. "Was that just Yugi's grandfather?" she asked. Kaiba just humphed at her and sat back on his haunches, refusing to acknowledge that the old man had turned into such a powerful card. Refusing to even consider the possibility that in a battle, the old man could have a chance at winning against him. Kiri cocked her head at him and hid her smile, she had heard how Yugi had defeated Kaiba using those same cards and knew that Kaiba was less than amused to find the old man who was indirectly responsible for that first defeat to have changed into the very cards responsible for that defeat. She wisely dropped the subject and contented herself with stroking the scales she had been touching.

"Well you two seem to be getting along better" the Pharaoh smirked.

**End Flashback**

(on with the story)

Kiri's hand stilled on Kaiba's shoulder as she froze, knowing that one statement, that one voice guaranteed to set him off on an explosion and game of epic proportions just to soothe his wounded pride. The low rumbling growl began so deep that she felt it in her fingers before it actually erupted from his throat.

Slowly everyone began to back away from the two gamers, as if afraid that sudden movement would gain their attention, turn the focus to them, and no one was willing to be the center of those terrifying gazes.

Only Kiri remained, frozen in place by the low rumbling growl that echoed through her fingers and her entire body. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to, had she been able to convince her feet to move. The two stared at each other; the contest beginning with a battle of wills alone, the very weapons being the forceful personalities at play.

Minutes seemed to pass, as neither combatant would give. Kiri tensed and waited, knowing that at any moment the battle would begin in earnest and desperately trying to find a way to stop it. Anything would work. That ear shattering scream would work…she turned and looked at Anzu, the source of the scream. Wait, why was Anzu screaming. The others stared at her as if she had lost her mind, which might not be far from the truth but that was neither here nor there.

Then she saw them, monsters born of shadows and grinning like mad men in a circle surrounding the little group. Everyone had been so focused on the Pharaoh and Kaiba that they hadn't seen the danger until it was too late. But from the lack of reaction in both Kaiba and the Pharaoh, Kiri wondered if they hadn't sensed the danger coming, and just held their position until the moment arrived.

'Typical male thinking' Kiri grumbled in her head 'just like them to stand their looking big, bad, and male without bothering to let the rest of the world know that something is going wrong.' Kiri's thoughts were cut off when she felt clawed hands grab her wrist and came face to face with the nightmarish shadows. She screamed as it laughed and pulled her away from Kaiba…or tried to. It screamed as Kaiba's claws sank into its shoulders and ripped its arm off, forcing it to let go of Kiri. She backed up as Kaiba threw it back into the circle of shadows. Kiri looked around to check on the others and realized that she was the only one without a weapon prepared to defend themselves.

In one of those brief flashes of insights that only happen at the wrong moments, she realized that in all the 6 months she had known him, she had never stood up to defend herself, to fight for herself, unless of course you count frying the bugs and Yugi, but that was more fear than actual planning. She had always stood behind Kaiba, he had always done the battling, always done the fighting, and she had always stood as the helpless maiden in the background, offering support and doing nothing more than screaming. In one instant, she felt totally and completely stupid. No wonder Kaiba never took her seriously, she had a hard time taking herself seriously. It was one of those epiphanies that came with a hallelujah chorus and the need to crawl under a rock.

She was a strong, intelligent, capable female who didn't need to hide behind any man, and what the hell had she been thinking. Her epiphany was cut off abruptly as angels dove screaming to the side attempting to avoid the swiping claws of a shadow reaching for her again. Kaiba's claws were there to block the shadow before Kiri even had time to think of how to defend herself. She stood up straight and tall, searching for a weapon of some kind, because she was going to defend herself in this fray if it killed her.

'And it just might' she thought as she avoided another shadow's grab. The others were fighting but not as hard pressed as Kaiba was by the shadows. It was as if the shadows were sent after him alone. Well for once, she was going to defend him. She picked up the broom Yugi's grandfather had set down and swung at the nearest shadow, connecting with a satisfying thunk to its head. Unfortunately it wasn't even dazed as it grinned at her and grabbed the broom dragging her toward it.

Another clawed hand wrapped around her waist, startling her into letting go of the broom. Kaiba tucked her under his chest as he smashed the shadow, broom and all.

"Stay put, you idiot." He hissed, as his tail sent two more shadows flying into a nearby wall. The Pharaoh skewered another shadow as he made his way to Kaiba's side.

"What did you do to tick them off, Kiri." He asked rhetorically as he swung his sword at another shadow, slicing it in half.

"Me" Kiri yelped and grabbed for the broom again, only to have Kaiba snag her back and hold her under him.

"Stay put." He growled and swung his free claw at another shadow, ripping it to shreds. The shadows seemed never-ending, as Kiri was helpless to do anything but hide against Kaiba's chest while he and the others defended her from the onslaught. She wanted to scream in frustration, hating the feeling of being weak, while other's fought her battle.

In the darkness watching the battle was a set of eyes, gleaming possessively as they watched her there, struggling with her emotions. Its spell weaved a little more, causing her to fall deeper into despair. Alone the shadows could not defeat the Pharaoh or Yami Kaiba, their only hope was to draw her out into something foolish. A chance that would be slim and only once, but one he was prepared to wait for.

She struggled against Kaiba's hold, wanting to join the fray. She beat her fists against his chest attempting to break his iron grip. It didn't even faze Kaiba as he held her there, not tight enough to harm, but tight enough to keep her from harming herself in her struggles. She didn't understand why she was behaving this way. She only knew that she had to be free, she had to fight.

For one moment, time paused as the two halves of Yugi came together and formed one person, one powerful card that stood out from the others. It was only a brief flash that came and went so quickly, as for that one moment, the two were one again. The shadow in the forest froze, knowing that if they held it, all would be lost. But as quickly as the moment came, it went again, with the two unsure of what had happened. But unfortunately for the shadows that one brief moment was enough, the Pharaoh's eyes suddenly glowed as he turned the power of the ancients upon the forest, breaking the spell that held Kiri in its grasp. She slumped exhausted in Kaiba's arm, worn out from her struggles to be free. The shadows retreated before the blazing power, returning to their master who cursed the Pharaoh's sharp eyes and sharper wits. But he knew that it wasn't only the Pharaoh's power that had released her. It was a combination of the Pharaoh's knowledge and Kaiba's strength that had one this round. Next time, next time he would be better prepared. Next time he would seek her when she was alone.

The shadows vanished as swiftly as they had come, retreating through the darkness that had spawned them. Unwittingly leading another to their lair, one who slithered in the darkness as if he too was born to it.

Voices spoke over her head some calling her name, but she was too tired to listen. Sleep beckoned to her, that soothing darkness that would ease her confusion if only for a little while. She felt the warm comfort of being held and the growl as a familiar voice talked reverberating through his chest. She surrendered to the lure of dreams.

"She's only sleeping." The Pharaoh replied as he removed his hand from her forehead.

"Why did they want her?" Mokuba demanded from his perch on Anzu's shoulder. He was too distracted to notice the perfect view of Anzu's cleavage, a testament to his distress over the situation. Kaiba held the sleeping girl in his front claws and glared at the Pharaoh as if he could somehow supply the answers.

"Somehow, she is the key to this situation." The Pharaoh murmered and stared hard at the sleeping girl. "Or she is the planned bait for some type of trap."

"But why her?" Jounouchi wondered.

"Simple," the Pharaoh replied, "other than Mokuba, she is the only one that Kaiba would go after, the only one liable to draw us all to the same place at the same time."

"Humph" Kaiba glared, "they assume to much."

The Pharaoh pointedly looked at the clawed hands that held her so tight without a word.

"We shouldn't separate for a while. They will be back, the moment one of us is alone." Yugi pointed out with his usual optimism.

Kaiba glared and tightened his claws. Mokuba piped up and invited everyone to their place since it was bigger and had better security measures. Not to mention the games that were already there for the entertainment of all. Kaiba turned and launched himself into the air, returning to the mansion. Tonight would be a long night as he and the Pharaoh analyzed and planned their next move.

Somewhere in the darkness, eyes alight with malicious glee, Bakura watched the shadows to where they retreated and planned his next move.


	8. Chapter 7

A/n the dreaded writer's block is over and I know where I am again. Yeah. So, the game draws nearer to an end…and why is Bakura so hell bent on keeping the darkness around…hmm…couldn't have anything to do with his moment of enjoyment when he discovered he was free and in his own body.

Yami and Kaiba stared at the screen reviewing the attacks on the group. Over and over they watched Yami and Yugi fuse for one moment to become the Magician of Black Chaos. It was so quick that is you weren't looking for it, you would never have noticed it.

"Dark and light can become one and stronger, but the enemy seems to already know this. It is as if they are hoping we wouldn't be able to figure this out until it was too late." Yami observed before rewinding and watching the scene with Kiri again. "what we need to know is what card she is and why they need her so badly. It is more than just striking at you. They could do that with Mokuba. It would be easier for them to use Mokuba." Yami closed his eyes and leaned against the wall bringing all his knowledge to bear on the question.

Kaiba stared at the screen analyzing the movements carefully. "She has to be a magic card. It is the only thing that makes sense. She is a magic user in the game so she would have become a magic card of some sort." Kaiba continued staring at the screen as it flashed various cards across it.

"You can cross out the ones with human forms, we would have recognized those by now. You can also cross out the death cards as well as the dark ones." Yami watched Kaiba make the changes. The cards left over flashed continuously across the screen being eliminated one by one.

Kiri stood up and moved across the floor and down the darkened stairs. Shouts and laughter echoed to her right and the quiet mumblings of Kaiba and Yami were to her left. She stops in front of Kaiba's office, staring at the door that leads to where Kaiba and Yami stare at the computer screen. Life flickers into her eyes long enough for her to reach for door before it dies and she turns toward the doors leading to the outside. She trails her hand along the bookshelf knocking books from their place to the floor before walking out the front door, leaving it open. She vanishes into the darkness followed by a sadistic laugh.

Kaiba and Yami rush toward the sound of the books only to see the door open and hear the triumphant laugh.

"Damn," Yami slammed his hand on the wall. Kaiba glared at the door, his tail twitching, the only sign of his heightened emotions.

"It looks like the playing field has been decided." Kaiba turned back to his office. He clicked on his computer and a map appeared illuminating the screen with its knowledge. The rest of the crew gathered round, having been drawn there by the laughter. A grim sense of determination settled over the group as they waited for the answer. A blinking dot appeared on the screen north of the city.

"Clever, clever Kaiba" Yami smiled a dangerous smile, one that was echoed in Kaiba. The two presented a powerful threat towards those who had started this game.

"If she realizes you planned on her being kidnapped…" Yugi trailed off. Kaiba's tail stiffened though he gave no other outward sign of the inherent threat with that thought.

"Let's just not tell her." Anzu stated quietly. The others nodded their agreement.

Somewhere to the North of the City

"Good, you brought her to me" the darkness hissed.

"She's mine." The shadow reminded him.

"Yes, yes, when I am done with her." The darkness eagerly agreed as it reached for her.

"No, she is mine now. The others will follow her into your trap without her being in your hands." The shadow countered.

"You would defy me?" the darkness roared angrily.

"You would go back on our deal." The shadow countered

The darkness hissed and reached for her again. "After I am done with her."

The Shadow snapped his fingers, releasing her from his spell. "Then I will subdue her when she is mine." He walked away whistling merrily.

"Fool." The darkness hissed angrily.

Kiri's eyes focused on the darkness and she screamed. Power glowed around her as her voice took on the music of a flute calling to the dragons.

The Shadow stopped and looked back in the direction of the sound. "Well, that didn't take long." He leaned against the wall. "Now all I have to do is wait."

Elsewhere in Kaiba's mansion, the group was gathered together between the two Kaiba's planning their attack.

"Did you hear something?" Jounouchi asked. A bright light appeared and engulfed the group to fade away, leaving behind an empty office.

Bakura stared at the Master of the Darkness from his hiding place in the shadows, waiting as well for the results of this newly activated spell.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N the long awaited or maybe not update. I actually have the darn thing finished now and I am editing as this is posting. I will have it up by tomorrow at the latest (July 15, 2005) or you are all allowed to throw Kaiba at me to your hearts content. Just a thought.

Disclaimer…I still don't own Kaiba but I am finishing watching his tv series…does that count.

On with the production:

Kiri stared at the circle of light that appeared when she had screamed. The Master before her cursed and stepped back as a familiar tangle of bodies landed on the floor. Hyozanryu had landed on the bottom with the others piled on top in various painful looking positions. Kaiba settled to the side with a cold glare for the Master.

Kiri skirted along the wall then rushed toward Kaiba. She clutched his front leg and hid beneath his chest. Kaiba shifted slightly to ensure she was completely hidden and protected.

"Flute of Dragons" Yami commented as he walked over to the pair from the shadows. "Fitting."

The others were finally disentangling themselves and standing up painfully. Jonouchi glared at the two of them. "How come you landed on your feet" he pointed at them accusingly.

Kaiba spared him a disgusted look. "Because we are not puppies like you."

Hyozanryu laughed suddenly. "So Kiri is the 'Flute of Dragons'. I knew she liked me." The others all stared at him in total confusion. "She called me," he grinned.

Yugi sighed and shook his head. "I think she was calling Kaiba and you came along for the ride like the rest of us."

Hyozanryu gave Yugi an affronted stare, "why would she call that cold-hearted, arrogant bad boy when she could have me."

Anzu shook her head and sighed, "Some guys never get a clue, do they."

Honda looked at her confused, "why do girls go for the bad boys, anyway?"

Kiri turned and glared at Honda and the others, "would you mind leaving my love life or lack thereof alone and concentrating on the matter at hand, mainly the creepy dude over there with plans on doing some serious damage to us."

Kaiba shifted slightly bringing Kiri back into the protection of his body. He didn't want to take the chance of her vanishing again before he could put an end this battle. Yami and Kaiba stared at the Master where he had inched away from the group and stood near a mirror that pulsed ominously.

"Fools" he hissed "you shall pay for interfering with my plans." Creatures came shuffling out of the shadows in response to the mirrors pulsing call and surrounded the tiny group of fighters. Kaiba smiled murderously. Here was something he could legitimately take out his anger on. He tucked Kiri under his chest and protected her from the heat as he blasted the shadows with fire.

"When did he learn to breathe fire?" Jonouchi yelled and jumped back.

"He is a dragon" Anzu pointed out sarcastically.

Kiri contemplated the fight going on around her. She picked up a discarded stick the shadows had been using for weapons so that she could fight as well. She began to move out from underneath Kaiba trying to sneak up on the shadow currently attacking Anzu. Kaiba locked his arm down around her waist holding her firmly against his chest. "No" he ordered.

"But I want to help" she protested.

"You can help by staying put and letting me do the fighting. It is my job to protect you." Kaiba growled. Kiri stared at him in utter amazement at him. He flexed her claws and held her closer as he blasted the shadows with fire again. Kiri stayed put, shocked that Kaiba would even admit such a thing much less say it out loud. Yami smirked knowingly at Kaiba "admitting it finally." Kaiba gave him a disdainful glare before ripping through a cluster of shadows with his tail. The others were too busy fighting the shadows to pay attention to what else had been going on. The shadows kept crawling out of the darkness in a seemingly never-ending stream of bodies. They almost seemed to be waiting for something as they attempted to overpower the small group of fighters.

Kiri shook her head to clear her thoughts. "I thought you wanted a partner…" she trailed of and whimpered as another more powerful creature came shuffling into view. It looked like a walking monstrosity with shadows hanging off of it like lumps of hair moving and writhing. Kiri put a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream as it raised its head revealing glowing red eyes that seemed to project terror to its opponents. The rest of the shadows danced around it in glee like schoolchildren whose favorite toy had been brought out to play.

"Fools, you shall not defeat me." The Master raised his hand in triumph and laughed an evil mocking parody of mirth. "No single creature can defeat my Shadow Ogre. He grinned sadistically at Kaiba. "Although if you quietly hand over the 'flute of dragons' I shall make your death swift and (a mocking pause) relatively painless."

"Never" Yami answered him with cold defiance. Kaiba drew himself up to his full dragon height and stared down at the Master in disgust.

"What do you mean, no single creature can defeat you," Anzu demanded.

The Master glared at her, "Silence fool, I have no use for speaking with pawns."

Hyozanryu had moved to stand next to Kaiba presenting a daunting front of powerful dragons. Kaiba's eyes had narrowed in that cold calculating way of his that suggested he was already planning out his strategy to defeat his opponent with the maximum amount of humiliation possible.

"Well partner," the Pharoah asked calmly. Yugi nodded and the two joined hands only to shimmer and merge into one player, The Magician of Black Chaos. The cold look he gave the Master let everyone know that it was Yami's personality in charge of this player.

"So you figured it out, but it's too late to save you," the Master chuckled. He pointed at the party. "Destroy them all and bring me the Flute of Dragons, I have plans for her."

Kaiba shifted Kiri over to stand by Anzu. He raised himself on his hind legs fanning his wings out and roared his battle cry. Hyozanryu and Kaiba shimmered together and fire seemed to erupt from the ground swirling around the two like a lovers caress before completely hiding them from view. When the smoke cleared the others gasped as the Master howled in anger "how could you!"

A/N only a mild cliffhanger…at least you won't have to wait months this time to find out what happens next.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N needing no introductions by now…hopefully and including a disclaimed and disclaimer. But my birthday was last month is someone wants to send me Kaiba, I wouldn't protest.

The others gasped and stared as the flames died away to reveal the Lord of Dragons standing there wearing Kaiba's smug grin.

"How could you," the Master howled in protest. "It should have required you two fools to get along and you never did." He stomped his foot in protest and howled in anger again as his plans were beginning to unravel before his eyes.

"It simply required me to acknowledge him as my other half. Once I did that I reclaimed him to become me once more." Kaiba explained haughtily.

"Does this mean that we still have to put up with Hyozanryu every once in a while too." Jounouchi asked. Kaiba glared scorchingly at him causing Jounouchi to hide behind Anzu in terror.

"He is no longer a problem. He will not be coming out again. Ever." Kaiba bit out angrily and then turned to glare at the cause of the problem. "He should never have been let out in the first place."

"The old Kaiba is back" Yami observed dryly.

Kiri stared at Kaiba with a blank look on her face. "Is anyone else as confused as I am," she asked of no one in particular. Anzu shook her head in agreement "totally and completely confused." Yami looked at Anzu and shrugged "I will explain it to you later."

Bakura moved forward restored to Ryo's body as the white mage again. He wasn't taking any chances on what might happen when whoever won happened to restore or destroy reality again. He calmly picked up a sword and began destroying the creatures before him and smiling a sadistically gleeful grin. He would leave the main fight to the Pharoah and Priest, he had no wish to fight a losing battle.

Kiri stared at Kaiba and Yami as they engaged in a staring contest with the oversized bad hair day monster. She clutched Mokuba too her when he spouted a tiny flame of fire and tried to rush in to support his big brother. "No, Mokuba, you must not interfere," she admonished him with a tap on his nose.

"But I wanna help," he whined and struggled against her.

"The best way you can help is by staying out of their way," she sighed and looked back to the fighters, "we are not the strong fighters and would only hinder them if we tried to fight right now."

The rest of the room stood still as the main event began to unfold. The shadows fell back and seemed to merge with the shadow ogre, strengthening his power but not doing a thing for his looks.

The shadow watched from the darkened corridor with a rueful smile. The fight was going to be spectacular and a good distraction for him to grab the 'flute of Dragons' and get away. Her power would make the difference in this delightful nightmare and he would become the Master then.

The Shadow Ogre moved first and smashed a fist down where Kaiba and Yami once stood. Kaiba leapt back and blasted him with flames burning several of the shadows off his arms. Yami called lightening and it crashed down across the creature's back frying a few more of the shadows. But more swarmed up to take their places as the ogre reared back to strike again. This time his flailing hands flung Yami into Kaiba's side knocking them both against the far wall. They recovered quickly attacking with lightening and flame again, calling forth light to fight the shadows. The battle continued to rage as the rest of the group huddled together in a protected alcove watching the balance of power shift from one side to the other as quickly as Jounouchi changed channels with his remote.

Kiri kept trying to figure out how she could help. She knew that there had to be a key somewhere to win this battle. She grabbed Jounouchi "what powers does the flute of dragons have."

"It can call the dragons forth from your deck and sometimes with a sacrifice you can cause a fusion to occur with the dragons." He scratched his head. "It's usually called 'the flute of the summoning dragon.'"

Kiri let her hand drop as she thought long and hard about what Jounouchi had said. The shadow watched her for a moment more before walking away. The secrets were coming together and her power had slipped out of his reach. He had no intention of sticking around and being destroyed with the Master. There were other opportunities to snatch control that were more favorable.

Kiri jerked her head up and stared at Kaiba and Yami in dawning realization. Somewhere a story of one of their battles played in her head and she knew what she had to do in order to defeat the Master and his shadow world. She walked forward as if in a dream ignoring the little voice in her head that kept whispering the word 'sacrifice' as she carefully made her way in between the two fighters as they paused in the fighting to catch their breaths and plan their next moves. Both sides had taken heavy damage from the battle and neither one had come up with an advantage…until now.

Kiri held up her hands, palms facing Yami and Kaiba, and concentrated on the spell for fusion, thanking the gods that Kaiba had used it often enough in the simulator that she had it memorized. Slowly her hands began to glow and the two fighters stared at her in amazement as the Master screamed in fury. Kiri felt the power pooling in those two balls of lights on her hands that shot into Kaiba and Yami. She felt darkness closing in around the edges of her vision but she refused to give in to it yet. She would see this spell through if it was the last thing she did. A voice whispered in her head that it may well be.

Yami and Kaiba blurred and reformed into one more powerful fighter. When they first did this they became Master of Dragon Knight but this time it wasn't Black Luster soldier and the ultimate blue eyes white dragon on the field. The shadow ogre steps back and the Master shows fear in his eyes for the first time as they gaze upon the newest player in this battle.

A/N Cliffhanger again…sorry, but work is over and I need to upload this chapter and go home. The conclusion and epilogue are all that is left...what did they turn into? And will Kaiba keep the girl in the end?


	11. Chapter 10

A/N disclaimed and disclaimer. I move some things around this time so the one-shot should be on its own now. I hope.

On with the show.

Kiri blinked slightly confused and dazed as she stared at the fusion form of Kaiba's Lord of Dragons and Yami's Magician of Dark Chaos. She had never seen that card before, didn't even know if it was possible for that fusion to occur but then she shrugged. It shouldn't have been possible for Kaiba to be walking around as a dragon anyway so why shouldn't it be possible for the merger to occur.

"Who are they now" Jounouchi whispered to Anzu. She shook her head and held out her hands helplessly.

"Maybe we should have a naming contest and the winner gets to go out with the guy of her choice." Mokuba offered. "Or his choice, I guess is possible as well." The glare from the guys in question froze the air and Mokuba slunk behind Anzu shivering, "or maybe not."

There, rearing before the Shadow Ogre, was a big black dragon easily one and a half times larger than the ultimate blue eyes white dragon, with eyes that glowed a molten gold and his very presence exuded power and composure. Atop him was the Magician, wearing robes of all black lined with the same liquid gold as the dragon's eyes, looking every bit the powerful magician and fighter. Kiri caught Anzu staring at the Magician with a glazed look in her eyes and chuckled to herself, admitting that he didn't look half bad that way.

"Don't think that because you have become, well, whatever you are, that you will defeat me." The Master shook his fist at the guys, "I shall still defeat you and your souls will feed my darkness."

The battle began again in earnest, but the shadow ogre was over powered now and the guys took advantage of it. However the Shadow Ogre wasn't as stupid as he looked and time and time again managed to escape situations that should have finished him. Kiri swayed slightly as the guys once again cornered the Shadow Ogre. She refused to pass out until after the battle was over. If she had learned one thing from playing this game with Kaiba, it was stubbornness. She would sooner spend a week in the game with Bunny and Pegasus then she would give up. Somewhere in the back of her mind was the thought that she might not wake up if she passed out now, but she continued ignoring that soft, annoying voice that sounded way too much like her conscious.

The guys made a final attack move that left the others in awe of their prowess. It was combinations of a lightening strike, fire attack, and dark spells that wove together to crash into the Shadow Ogre and destroy him in a flash of light and butterflies. Kiri blinked twice…nope it was butterflies flying away in all directions driving back the darkness and restoring the light to the cavern. She reached up and caught one on her hand and stared at the beautiful white of its wings that reminded her of blue eyes white dragon. Another flew by with the patterns of the black magician on its wings. She looked at the Master where he knelt broken by the defeat of his champion.

The Master glared at them all "four hours, four more hours and my world would have been irreversible. Four more hours and there would have been nothing you could have done and all the power would have been mine. At midnight, the world would have changed forever." He turned to Kiri with a crazed gleam in his eyes; "this is your fault" he howled and charged at her. Kiri watched him come toward her in slow motion. She was so drained that she couldn't have moved if she wanted to, nor fought back with any hope of even being capable of winning.

A dragon's hand suddenly appeared in front of her and swatted the Master away with a brutal force into a wall. He slumped where he landed, dazedly staring at the Lord of Dragons who now stood between him and Kiri. "Mine, she is mine. No one is allowed to touch what is mine," he growled.

Kiri stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips, "wait a minute, buster, who in the heck gave you the right to claim me as your own." She stormed up to his head and glared into his eyes; "just because these stupid idiotic bracelets say Kaiba's slave does not even begin to make it true and furthermore…" she trailed off as the darkness edged in again around her vision. Anger had kept her awake longer than her body could take and she crashed hard, falling into Kaiba's arms like a damsel in distress. Somewhere in the back of her mind the thought that she was going to finish giving him what for when she woke up played out…but then darkness finished claiming her.

Yami checked her pulse and sighed thankfully. "She is still with us, just very weak. She needs rest and lots of it for the next few days but she should be alright." He put a hand to her forehead and frowned "she has a slight fever though. It will be a rough week for her."

The Master stood up and glared at them all, stumbling to his mirror. "She won't get the opportunity to wake up. None of you will." The mirror pulsed again and emitted a dark cloud that floated toward the group as the Master laughed. But then the mirror screamed a dark and ear-splitting wail of a dying thing and shattered into a thousand pieces, its magic spent and wasted by the defeats it had suffered of its conjured creatures.

The group stared in tired amazement at the anticlimactic end to the last few days of terror.

Honda shook his head "hard to believe that it's only been about three days since this started. It's only Monday tomorrow. 7 days left of vacation."

"And 4 hours left for me to show you whose the boss" Jounouchi yelled suddenly.

"What do you mean, who's the boss," Honda replied, "I can kick your butt in any form."

"Whatever" Jounouchi taunted, "you couldn't fight your way out of a rice paper bag; much less beat the incredible Jounouchi."

They argued all the way out of the building and on toward Yugi's house, with Yami watching them with a tired smile. The argument would play out until midnight with various scenarios until the mysterious sleep once again struck and the friends would awaken in the morning sprawled out on Yugi's floor and bed, once again the same as they were before this adventure began.

A/N next is the epilogue that details Kaiba's ending. And the final naming of the fusion of The Magician of Black Chaos and The Lord of Dragons…maybe.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N Last chapter of this installment anyway. If anyone has any ideas for what they would like to see happen to Kaiba next, let me know. And disclaimed and disclaimer, but I am going to sit down and watch the end of the Atlantis arc and the next arc this weekend so that should count for something.

Bakura laughed maniacally as another player lay broken and defeated before him. It wasn't quite as satisfying as casting them into darkness, but still, battling them as himself and not using any one else's body had some sense of pleasure to it. Ryo was tied to a tree awaiting the time change. He had fallen asleep after the first few battles, losing interest in his partner's sadistic glee at winning over others. Many a fighter would awaken Monday morning to the sounds of that evil laughter and nightmares for days to come of being cast into darkness by that voice.

When Ryo awoke in the morning, it was in his own bed with slight marks from the ropes on his wrist. He couldn't help but feel that he had missed something but decided that if it involved Bakura, he probably didn't want to know. The slight sense of satisfaction coming from a spot within him that was not him confirmed his first instinct and he headed for the shower hoping there was enough hot water to wash away the slightly dirty feeling he had.

Mokuba awoke on his own and wiggled his toes and fingers before he even opened his eyes. After checking to make sure he was his normal size and shape, he went back to bed. Early afternoon was good enough to get up and go play games down at the arcade with Jounouchi and maybe he would see that cute girl again. He fell asleep dreaming of the fans that would flock to him as he became one of the greatest players in the world, just like his brother.

Kaiba awoke slowly, feeling like he had been through one of the fiercest battles he had ever fought, but with that deep feeling of satisfaction attached to it. He felt a weight shift at his side as Kiri moved slightly to get comfortable against his side. He had carried her home last night and stayed near her to make sure nothing else happened before midnight came. Morning found Kiri laying half on top of Kaiba, breathing shallow as exhaustion still clung to her body making her temperature rise slightly. Kaiba lay there, arguing with himself as to whether he really wanted to get up. Finally he simply stayed in bed, telling himself that he didn't want to disturb her sleep when she obviously needed it so badly. The phones went unanswered as Kaiba fell back to sleep, clasping Kiri close to him as he drifted back off into dreams of battles won and plans that went right.

It was mid morning before Kiri awoke, feeling drained and worn out from the events of the past few days. She moved slowly out of bed and made her way to the bathroom before returning to lie on the now empty bed. Kaiba found her sprawled out on the covers when he returned from checking on Mokuba. He wrapped her in a blanket and carried her down to the couch in his office where he could keep an eye on her while he worked.

Mokuba came and went as the day wore on, seeking to enjoy his days of freedom before school started. That cute girl was at the arcade and he played against her a time or two, helping her learn how to play, or that's what he told Jounouchi anyway.

Evening came and Kiri awoke again, tired and hungry. She went to stand up when Kaiba appeared to push her back down.

"But I am hungry" she protested as she lay back, too tired to fight back when he pulled the covers back up over her.

"I will get you some soup" he replied. Kiri stopped and blinked at him in utter shock. She raised her hand and placed it on his forehead checking for fever.

"Are you sure you feel okay?" she asked worriedly. He gave her a look before walking out of the room. She lay back trying to figure out if something had gone wrong in the midnight hour because Kaiba was certainly not acting like himself. Mokuba crept in and hugged her before wandering off to his room as Kaiba returned.

He handed her the soup and watched her eat with a veiled expression. She finally put the cup down and sighed. "What?" she asked tiredly.

"You are never to do that again," he replied. Kiri blinked at him stupidly.

"Do what?" she asked.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, glaring at her for making him explain. "You are not to exhaust yourself like this again. No battle is worth risking your life for." He bit out tersely. She stared at him in utter amazement.

"But you do it all the time" she pointed out.

"That's different. I am the fighter and I am allowed. You however are not." He nodded to her as if he had laid down the law and she was expected to obey. She was so flabbergasted by this time she couldn't argue. The entire conversation since she had awoken kept replaying in her head like a broken record that came to only one conclusion.

"Mokuba" she yelled, "get your shoes on, we are heading for Yugi's place."

Mokuba came tearing down the stairs and into the room. "What's wrong Kiri."

"Your brother just said winning isn't as important as my life" she scrambled off the couch throwing on his coat and looking for her shoes. Mokuba fell back against the wall in amazement.

"Brother?" he asked in disbelief.

"Get a move on Mokuba; we need to get to Yugi's place." Kiri ordered, dragging the blanket off the couch in her haste.

Kaiba moved from the couch and swung her up in his arms, heading for his bedroom. "You are supposed to be sleeping, not running around hysterically."

"Mokuba," her voice drifted back down the stairs "go get Yami. Tell him that Hyozanryu has taken over Seto's body and he needs to hurry."

Mokuba shook his head and went back to bed. Everything would look more normal after a good nights sleep.

The End


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